Vector Marketing, Cutco SCAM Ripoff Peabody Massachusetts

The "employees" commenting on this complaint are recruiters that work for Vector.  The terminology and wording that they use here are only to blur out what the real truth is with this company.  Unfortunately, this company has been attacking pretty much any and all complaints about them posted around the web, so best to ignore them, even report them if possible.

Don't be deceived!

Believe it or not, this is a great opportunity. Just because your experience was bad with the company doesn't mean that everybody else's was bad. I'm currently working for the company myself. You may have had some bad managers, but mine are great. They don't require your to go to the conferences they suggest that you should go, because of all that you learn. If the knives are so great like you say they are, then why were not proud to sell them. I am very proud to say that I work for Vector Marketing and Cutco. You really do have to work your butt off. My managers never once said I was going to get paid for the training, nor did they say they were going to pay for my gas. They were entirely honest and up front about everything I asked about during the interview. So this was your fault for not asking enough questions to begin with. I can only say from my experience, and it has been great. You do have to work extremely hard, but you are also well rewarded. You also have to be self disciplined. I will also say that being a sales rep isn't for everyone. Some people just simply aren't cut out for the job. 

for those of you who think vector/cutco is not a scam, here's my experience...

I'm a college student and was at school when i saw a booth that read "$16 pay". So of course it caught my attention. I signed up and recieved a phone call later that day in order to schedule an interview. I went to the interview the next day and was hired. I was told there was job training i had to attend (6 hours for each day, 3 days in total). I attended & their enthusiasm was contagious. I was very excited to start selling. And to be honest, the $153 security deposit on the kit we recieve didn't bother me much (although i don't know how they expected us to give money without having made any yet). I gave my deposit, recieved my kit, & started calling people i knew that i could possibly set an appointment up with.

Then little things began to bother me. For one, i felt really pushed to call people. Some people didn't mind, but i personally didn't enjoy it. Secondly, we were told that if we got 4 yes's (references) from our clients then they get a free peeler. I asked how would they get the free peeler, seeing as the only one we had was the one in our kit. And the manager said "all you have to do" is come to the office, buy a peeler for $4, and go back to the house and give it to them. WTF??? why would i have to buy it? i understand it's only $4, but that's MY $4. it could be 25 cents for all i care, but they can't tell me how to spend my money. So at this point i was getting suspicious. But still i didn't want to give up yet. That weekend i had a few appts. and i gave myself an assignment: my this weekend i have to decide whether or not i want to continue with this company. after my first 2 appts. i already knew. matter of fact i was so sure of my decision i cancelled the rest of my appts.

here were the problems i encountered: 1) i hated the driving. location to location. it's not like everyone i know lives by each other. it was extremely inconvienent. 2) at first the "flexible" schedule is what really appealed to me, but i realized quickly that it wasn't for me. the majority of vector's employees are college students. meaning we each have our own schedule with classes & other activities. The spontaneity of the appt.'s were stressful because i had no idea when my next appt. would be so i couldn't really plan anything because i had NO IDEA when my next appt. would be 3) you know those sale people that call your house & bug the hell out of you? well yea, i was becoming one. we required to call our manager in the kitchen of our clients house after we finished our presentation. & if they didn't buy one of the more expensive knife sets then he really had me push them & i could see how it was irritating the client.

so with an empty tank (of gas & energy), i had my mind set. i went to my managers office and quit. i sat there for 45 minutes listening to him trying to convince me to stay, but i wasn't budging so he finally gave in. he took out my contract and prepared to mail it to the company & gave me my copies. I told him i didn't want to keep my kit and i wanted my full refund back. He said i had ship it to the company through UPS but they would provide me with a sticker so i wouldn't have to pay for shipping. He took my bag to the back to remove the leather and rope (which we used to demonstrate the quality of the knives) and brought my bag back with the box i was going to ship it in. Now that i think of it, i should've had him remove the leather and rope while he was in his office. Let me to tell you why. You thought my Vector experience ended here huh? Wrong! The story continues, bare with me please...

GOD BLESS my parents & uncles who convinced me i should take pictures of the knives before i sent it out so that the company couldn't claim they recieved damaged goods. Before i get into it let me tell you something: we were given 7 knives, 6 of which we had to wrap up in a SPECIFIC order in this red cloth. i was never skilled at wrapping the knives in the cloth, it always come out sloppy. And when i went to quit at Vector i wasn't sure if iwas going to give them my kit to ship in or have to do it myself. So while i was in the car, in the parking lot of the building which vector was located in, i checked everything in my bag thoroughly and tried to fold the knives neatly, but i couldn't. with that in mind let's get back to the story.

i was told to wait 2 days before shipping my kit in, so i did and i didn't touch the kit until then. 2 days later i drove to UPS, parked my car, and took out my camera. I proceeded to take pictures of every knife. I soon realized that there were only 5 knives in the cloth. Hmmm...strange right? I had checked them before i went to quit, so that meant only one thing. So i called my (ex)manager and informed him about my dilemma and he said that the knife must have "fell out". How could that be possible when his only job was to take out the leather and rope AND the knife that was missing was in the middle of the cloth (remember i said it was in a specific order). But i kept it professional and didn't accuse him of anything. I just said i wanted my knife back. He then told me "As long as you ship in 75% of the products, you'll get a full refund." how about a big LMAO to that. I told him i still want my knife because i would like to ship in all the products i recieved. He looked in the back and said he found it and that i could come and pick it up. So i did, but when i saw the knife it wasn't mine and it clearly had been used because there was gunk in the corners and a few scratches, but whatever i cleaned it, went back to UPS, and shipped in my kit.

When i got home later that evening i looked over my contract to see if it really said only 75% of the products need to be recieved in order to get a full refund. and OF COURSE it didn't. It said i had to send in the complete package. I happened to look over the contents and began to get angry again when i realized that the peeler was not in the kit i sent. i was so focused on the missing knife that i forgot about the peeler. SO I CALLED AGAIN. and talked to both the assisstant manager & the manager & told them. Again they said the whole 75% bs. I told them that wasn't in the contract, but they said they've dealt with this multiple times and what they're saying is true *rolls eyes*. The manager knew i wasn't happy so told me that if they gave me any problems with my refund to call him back. After hanging up, i called the main company phone # and asked if that was true. The women on the phone said "No that's absolutely not true, you must send in everything to get all your money back."

It's been over a week and I've been keeping track of my package through UPS tracking and it still hasn't reached New York yet (which is where the Vector manufacturing is located). I hope and pray this is where my story ends and i get my money back, we'll see!

I hope someone learns from me. Take what you will from my story. But the moral of it is: Do NOT work for Vector!

First of all you spelled opportunity wrong. Secondly, this thing is a scam. I know several people who have been involved with this ''company'' and they have all had the same problem. Now my best friend is involved in it so please rethink your stance on this ''opportunity''.

I am an employee for Vector Marketing and I can say from experience that it is not a scam. First off it is your choice to go in for the interview and they never say that they pay you per hour but that they have a $13.50 base pay. This base pay is only so that if you have a bad week you will still get payed for the amount of appointments that you did. Plus when you start the job you make 10% off of everything you sell. Then you are payed for that percentage and the difference between that percentage and the base pay. Ex: you have 8 appt. that week so your base pay is $108, and you make $58 off of your percentage of sales there fore you get paid the $58 and $50 so that you make the entire $108. If you choose to not do appts. then of course you do not get paid. Hellow, you did not work. And yes you do pay for your gas, but you can write your milage off on your taxes. As you work you make more money because you make more of a persentage. So far I have sold over $6,700 and I have only been there for a month and a half. I am now making 25% of everything I sell. If you follow the manual that you are given and you have a positive attitude there is no reason why you won't sell, because the product sells itself. It IS that good.

Also you do not have to buy your starter set. You give them a check for 1/3 of the price and they do not cash it unless you steal the set. And if your manager gave you a hard time when it was time to return your set then it was not because of the company that was just that one manager. Most managers will not give you any problems.

Vector Marketing is a company that gives Students the oppertunity to gain experience for their resume and it gives them the buisness experience that all buisnesses want you to have but are not willing to give you. Vector Marketing helps you to suceed in this world. Yes there are conventions all over the country for you to go to but they allow you to go for free if you can sell a couple of sertain knives. It is not hard! Plus it is optional to go or not so if you are unable to sell those knives you can choose to not go. It is you whose decides whether to pay and go or not.

I have been in the working world for many years now and Vector Marketing is the best place I have worked at so far. It is a company that you can only move up in. So if you are not doing well that is because you were not willing to listen and/or ask for help. It is there to help students not to rip them off.

Sincerly,
Jenn
Advisor and Key Staff Member
In the Western Region

I am also an ex-employee. No one ever debated that the knives are a really great (although pricey) product. And no one ever syas how hard it is to actually sell the product.

First, they complain that it is not an hourly job, but an hourly apointment job, in which you get paid per appointment. (Which can take less than an hour).

Second, they complain that they have to pay for their own gas to appointments. True, and also tax deductable.

Third, complaints about getting referrals from people. Its a fun demonstration - at least when I did it - and I was NEVER, NOT ONE TIME, given a fake name. Everyone was really nice, and I've even had poeple call their friends for me to set up an appointment, and it usually happened that when I called their friends they would say "Oh, yeah, John said you would be calling, and that I would really like your knives." Or, "Oh, youre that knife girl - yeah, you can come over." Usually the people I called had heard all about me already - I wasn't embarrassed to be there, as Carl obviously was.

Fouth, the meetings are NOT manditory. I went to a regional meeting in Alabama, about 10 hours from my house, and paid about $300. I regretted going, and didn't go to another meeting the rest of the time I worked there.

Fifth, I agree with Carl, that it is hard to set up enough appointments to make money, unless you actually sell something. The appointment pay is there to take the pressure off, not to be the point. The point is to sell knives, and the commision should always be the goal.

And finally, getting your initial refund. I chose to buy my knives, so it wasn't an issue for me. But when I worked there as a secretary, my manager kept the initial checks in his safe, and when people turned the knives back in he handed them their original check back.

It is different in every office. I think in the future he will go ahead and deposit the checks, because one girl quit and did not turn her knives back in, and when he went to deposit her check, it bounced.

I also worked for Vector a couple of years ago. They do offer $13-15 an hour and they tell the truth, it's $15 per hour per appointment. If your appointment is suppose to last for an hour then you've made $15 for that hour. If you're smart you'll skip a little small talk and make the appointment less than an hour. Also it is possible to set up 8 appointments in a day. If you are a smart individual as myself you will set up the appointments in the same area around the same time so that your traveling isn't that far from each appointment and your not wasting time. If you're a good sales person which you don't have to be to sell Cutco because your reading out of a book and the product sells itself your going to make a sell 8 out of 10 times even if the person just buys the shears or a single knife. The product works and its great so it sells itself.

Your also not telemarketing maybe someone(Carl) was not a good sales person. If you didn't triumph in your presentation with someone of course they weren't going to give out more names. But if you did and you explained that it just for training and that they don't have to buy anything people have no problem with giving you a name, if not you have more appointments lined up from other people.

Overall Cutco was a great experience for me, I did it on the side of my full time job. I even did a demonstration for my boss and he was scared that I was leaving my job to do the Cutco because I was so good at it. But it works and its great money in it. I made a sale my first night out, a $300+ sale and it only got better from there. The only reason I didn't stay was because I didn't have a car at the time to do the traveling and I had a demand basically for the product I had people giving me appointments before I asked them for the names, but if they lived more then 10 miles away from my house then the distance became a problem. But I do plan to do it again on the side, as a matter of fact my husband does it now.

I just don't feel that it's a scam it's Sales, and a great Sale I might add.

Lakisha
Chicago, Illinois
U.S.A.